{"id":10532,"date":"2025-11-27T08:00:58","date_gmt":"2025-11-27T09:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rutha.org\/?p=10532"},"modified":"2025-11-28T12:25:51","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T12:25:51","slug":"ebba-founders-all-timber-london-apartment-celebrates-alive-and-imperfect-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rutha.org\/index.php\/2025\/11\/27\/ebba-founders-all-timber-london-apartment-celebrates-alive-and-imperfect-wood\/","title":{"rendered":"EBBA founder’s all-timber London apartment celebrates “alive and imperfect” wood"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"EBBA<\/div>\n

EBBA Architects<\/a> founder Benni Allan has renovated his own London apartment<\/a> in a former tea factory, which features walls, floors, furniture and even speakers crafted from Douglas fir<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Located on the top floor of a canalside plot in east London<\/a>, Living with Timber is the self-designed home of Allan, who runs the nearby studio EBBA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"London
EBBA founder Benni Allan has renovated his own London apartment<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The architect clad the interior with Douglas fir throughout as a love letter to the material.<\/p>\n

“Timber is adaptable, warm and tactile,” Allan told Dezeen. “The versatility and sense of craft the material brings is something that isn’t appreciated enough. This project became a kind of essay on how to live with wood, testing how far we could take a single material in different applications.”<\/p>\n

\"Douglas
The home “became a kind of essay on how to live with wood”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Allan reconfigured the layout of the loft apartment, which was first turned into flats in the 1980s, to create an open-plan living space and kitchen.<\/p>\n

This involved the placement of floor-to-ceiling Douglas fir joinery. Running along the length of one wall, smooth cabinetry conceals all of the kitchen appliances behind slim doors.<\/p>\n

\"Chunky
Chunky timber furniture characterises the living space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“The joinery also resolves the awkward geometry of the original flanking wall that was at a harsh angle,” explained Allan.<\/p>\n

“The renovation was really about trying to open up as much as possible to get the most amount of volume, while inserting carefully considered interventions,” he added. <\/span><\/p>\n

This also meant raising all of the apartment’s door frames to full height.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tall
A tall wooden chair sits to the left of the bedroom door<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A low-slung, chunky timber armchair and stacked wooden coffee table characterise the living space, both designed by EBBA.<\/p>\n

Framing the furniture, a pair of bespoke Douglas fir speakers was created in collaboration with hi-fi start-up\u00a0Friendly Pressure<\/a> and fabricator Our Department<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One is suspended from the ceiling on a thin silver fixture, while the other is perched on a brutalist-style metal stand by emerging designer Olivia Bossy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Douglas
Douglas fir was even used to make a bespoke duo of speakers<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mahogany parquet flooring features throughout the apartment, salvaged from a previous EBBA project.<\/p>\n

Concealed behind a pocket door, Allan’s bedroom was finished in the same sandy hues as the main living space. A tall timber chair sits to the left of the door, giving the impression of a monolithic sculpture.<\/p>\n